Jeremy Stone brings up some valid points and Dr. Scott Stahl is very well respected in the herp vet community. Can't go wrong having him as your vet!

You must remember that vet med has advanced alot since 1997 and both Stahl and Jacobson are on the leading edge. In the past, abdomenal surgury was needed to take a biopsy. Endoscopy has been available in vet med for a number of years now and benefits from the small incision that you have mentioned.

As per the information and studies by Jacobson being outdated; well, there is two main points to respond to this. First of all, yes, it is outdated. This is because funds for researching IBD are quite limited when other diseases are deamed more important to study (mainly mammmilian diseases). I wouldn't go to far with your conspiracy theory as to where sponsorship money was used 5 or 10 years ago. Only the people who donated the money have a right to that knowledge. Second of all, IBD knowledge in general is incomplete. For instance, we still have not identified the pathogen at fault. "One leading theory is that it is a retrovirus, but there are lots of retroviruses out there in lots of species that have not been associated with problems yet. The presence of a retrovirus does not equal disease, and if you look at a species and don't find a retrovirus, you weren't looking hard enough." Without knowing what causes the disease, a definitive test to diagnose it is lacking. Even the aforementioned brain tissue biopsy is not definitive. Lots of things cause inclusion bodies.

To summerize;
A 100% diagnoses of IBD is not currently possible. Inclusion bodies that are similar among animals showing similar symptoms are used to say an animal has IBD. Not all animals have these bodies (carriers?) but in general, if they are showing symptoms they will have the bodies in brain tissue, pancreatic tissue, liver and intestinal tissue, among others.
A negative animal is impossible to prove. Thus it is not practical to test animals that are not showing symptoms. All sick animals should be worked up by a veterinarian without jumping to IBD as an end result. All other differential diagnosis should be considered as well.

I hope this helps clear the mud a little for those interested
Ian Kanda, AHT

"quote" Dr. Jim Wellehan from the Veterinary Information Network

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